CFR Marfa managers dismissed

CFR Marfa (Freight), the major freight railway operator in Romania with a market share of almost 55 per cent last year continues to sway on its way to financial stability.
Minister of Transports replaced the company’s board following a meeting with the company’s shareholders, confirmed for HotNews.ro dismisses board chairman Liviu Radu. CFR Marfa board was appointed following the emergency ordinance 109/2011, on private management at public companies. A law article was used to dismiss us. I believe we have never taken any measures to harm the company. I will discuss with my colleagues and we will see what we are going to do,” said Radu.
Former board was made of Liviu Radu (chairman), Bogdan-Ioan Constantinescu, Dan-Teodor Constantinescu, Ionut Georgescu, Vasilica Tugui and George Buruiana.
Radu, Georgescu, Bogdan and Dan Constantinescu were appointed in the board in February 2013, and the others later.
The new board of the railway company includes Mircea Florin Biban (chief-inspector with the Railway Safety Inspectorate Cluj within the Railway Safety Authority of Romania), Alina Paraiala (cabinet director with the Ministry of Transports), George Buruiana, who was part of the former board, Dan Toader (counselor at the Ministry of Transports, according to the latest wealth declaration on the institution website), Dan Jianu, Vasile Rodin-Calomfirescu and Elena Viorica-Merticariu (personal advisor with the cabinet of the secretary of state, according to the latest wealth declaration on the institution website).
In 2013, according to a report of the Ministry of Transports released in May 2014, CFR Marfa reduced their arrears in 2013 compared to 2012 by RON 1,411,453. According to the Ministry of Transports, CFR Marfa reported in 2013 gross losses of RON 163,511,000 compared to 405,086,569 in 2012.
Other dismissals
and resignations
CFR Freight general manager Dan Valentin Belcea, appointed in the position in April, resigned after a month from the helm of the public railway transport operator for personal reasons. Until Belceu’s appointment, CFR Marfa was under interim leadership by vice-general manager Pavel Barculet, after the death of former company manager Dragos Alexandru Draghici. CFR Calatori (Passengers) director Valentin Dorobantu was also dismissed from this position on Wednesday.
According to Liviu Radu, chief of Control Body of Ministry of Transport Adrian Nica was present at the meeting with the AGM members.
Sources close to the meetings between Gov’t and the delegation of the International Monetary Fund said that the relevant minister Dan Sova told the representatives of the international financial institutions that he wants to remove the companies controlled by the Ministry of Transport from under corporate governance (emergency ordinance 109/2011).
Revoking the entire board of CFR Marfa follows the revoking by the Ministry of Transports of the private management of the National Airports Company Bucharest during a meeting held last month and attacked by Proprietatea Fund, minority shareholder of the company. Sova replaced half of Tarom board a month ago as well.
Radu Merica, chairman of the dismissed board, compared the sudden action of Dan Sova with the communist nationalizations in the 50s: “A display of force similar to the nationalizations made by the communist regime in the 50s when they used to go with the police and the intelligence services at a private company.”
Memorandum on rendering railway transport
efficient, approved
Meanwhile, the Government approved during its Wednesday meeting a memorandum on measures aimed at rendering efficient the Romanian railway sector, as required for the approval of Romania’s Transport Master Plan. According to a Government release, the proposals listed in the document include focusing on a less extensive rail network, enhancing competitiveness in the award of public service contracts, the introduction of performance indicators in the financing of public passenger railway transport services and cost-cutting programs.
Prime Minister Victor Ponta said last Thursday that the railroads that are no longer profitable should be closed permanently, stating that there is an older strategy agreed upon with the IMF in this regard.
The Prime Minister added that Romania invests in infrastructure, but ‘investing in infrastructure development does not mean keeping in service old railways no one uses any more, but upgrading the ones that are still in use.’